Autism

Earl Howe: My honourable friend the Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am announcing the Government's publication tomorrow of Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives: Evaluating Progress-a set of key outcomes and service ambitions to secure implementation of the adult autism strategy. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library. Copies are available to honourable Members from the Vote Office and to noble Lords from the Printed Paper Office.
	Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives: Evaluating Progress has been produced to deliver against a commitment made in the first-year delivery plan to produce a self-assessment template for localities to check progress on implementing the goals set out in the adult autism strategy.
	The document details a set of seven key outcomes and three service ambitions which provide a consistent and tangible way to assess progress in each area. Over time, they will evolve into a jointly owned set of outcomes that all parties-local partners, adults with autism, central government and others-can use to understand progress, and become a focal point for developing improved services.
	The document reflects the Government's ambitions for local autonomy, where precise top-down targets are replaced by desired outcomes, where implementation and investment is determined by local priorities (as agreed by local communities through activities such as the joint strategic needs assessment-JSNA), and where central government's role is about facilitation rather than direction.
	This means a new approach to evaluating progress on the autism strategy with a focus on identifying the outcomes which will enable local and national assessment of whether the lives of adults with autism are improving. Government will take the lead in supporting local partners to deliver change
	In developing Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives: Evaluating Progress, we have worked closely with partners such as the Care Quality Commission, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, the NHS Confederation and voluntary and independent groups to select the most relevant outcomes.
	The document also includes a generic template for estimating local area need for use when commissioning services for people with autism. This will help provide a source of future information locally on progress. The Learning Disability Public Health Observatory will collate data using the template by publishing information from each locality.
	The development and launch of the autism strategy led to a range of activities at local and national level to improve services for adults with autism. To help continue that momentum the self-assessment template will enable local areas to assess their own progress towards the goals set in the strategy and towards implementing the statutory guidance.
	The department has also funded a series of on-line training resources and booklets to increase awareness and understanding of autism across all public services. Working with the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Social Care Institute for Excellence, the British Psychological Society, the Royal College of General Practitioners, Health Talk Online, Skills for Health and Skills for Care, we have produced a range of quality materials to enable front-line staff to better recognise and thus respond more effectively to the needs of adults with autism.

Correction to Lords Oral Answer

Earl Attlee: My Lords, following my answers to an oral question in the House on 16 March, I would like to clarify my statements in respect of the Government's policy on aviation (Official Report, cols. 232 and 233).
	This Government want an aviation industry that can thrive and prosper, while also addressing its local environmental impacts and playing its part in combating climate change.
	The South East Airports Taskforce is not considering Manston Airport. The terms of reference for the taskforce are specific to Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted (http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/southeastairports taskforce/).

Employment: Work Programme

Lord Freud: My right honourable friend the Minister for Employment (Chris Grayling) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	This morning, the Government took another major step forward in their delivery of the most sweeping welfare reforms for 60 years, announcing preferred bidders for 40 Work Programme contracts.
	Competition for contracts was intense, with 177 bids submitted by 30 organisations and this has led to a diverse and high-quality list of preferred bidders.
	We have also been very encouraged by preferred bidders' response to the emphasis we placed on the involvement of voluntary, local and community organisations in Work Programme delivery. There is impressive voluntary sector involvement with almost 300 voluntary sector organisations involved in delivery of the Work Programme as sub-contractors, and two voluntary sector organisations and one public sector organisation as prime contractors. Voluntary sector organisations make up a substantial proportion of prime contractors supply chains, in some cases over 50 per cent representing an investment of £95 million in the voluntary and community sector.
	We have chosen at least two providers to deliver in each of the 11 contract package areas. Their relative performance will determine their future share of the welfare to work market in each contract area, and we expect that this ongoing competition will continue to drive quality and performance in live running.
	The new payment by results system will deliver better value for money by paying providers from additional benefit savings they create, and providers will be paid more for helping those with the greatest needs, creating better incentives to deliver truly tailored support for everyone.
	The announcement of preferred bidders today keeps us on track for successful delivery of the Work Programme in June, delivering innovative back-to-work support for around 2.4 million people.
	I will place a document containing the list of preferred bidders in the Library today.

Health: Reciprocal Agreements

Earl Howe: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Anne Milton) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Following discussions between the Department of Health, the States of Jersey Government and the devolved Administrations, a new reciprocal health agreement between the United Kingdom and Jersey will come into effect from 1 April 2011.
	The new agreement will ensure that UK residents visiting Jersey will receive free, state-provided, immediately necessary treatment whilst on a temporary visit to Jersey, as will Jersey residents visiting the UK. No public money will change hands under the agreement, which is a common feature of all of the United Kingdom's non-European Economic Area reciprocal health arrangements.
	The new agreement will provide certainty for travellers and represents a mutually beneficial agreement for both the United Kingdom and Jersey.

House of Lords: Allowances

Lord Brabazon of Tara: In accordance with the resolution of the House of 10 November 2004, the maximum allowance payable to Members of the House in respect of a journey by car, motorcycle or bicycle is payable at the rate which is applicable to the vehicle under subsection (2) of Section 230 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. Following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget Statement, from 6 April 2011 the maximum mileage allowance payable to Members of the House for car journeys will increase to 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles. The amounts for journeys by motorcycle or bicycle remain unchanged.

Machinery of Government

Lord Strathclyde: My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has made the following Statement.
	I can announce the following changes to the Machinery of Government:
	The National Fraud Authority, an executive agency of the Attorney-General's Office, will transfer to the Home Office.
	Responsibility for issuing British passports overseas will transfer from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
	Responsibility for the Galileo programme will transfer from the Secretary of State for Transport to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; responsibility for the space component of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Programme will transfer from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; and UK input to both programmes will be led by the UK Space Agency, bringing together all parts of the Government's policy on civil space.
	The National School of Government will be brought into the Cabinet Office and will therefore cease to be a separate non-Ministerial department.